MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — A man allegedly punched a hostel manager in the face and smashed a restaurant’s windows with a street barrier during a violent Valentine’s Day crime spree in Manhattan, prosecutors said.
Jonathan Jones, 36, is being held at Rikers Island after he was arraigned on burglary, robbery, and assault charges in connection with Saturday’s rampage in Midtown, authorities said Monday.
Jones was caught on surveillance video allegedly using a street barrier from the sidewalk to break the front windows of Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse near Ninth Avenue and 35th Street at around 2:25 a.m., according to the criminal complaint.
When he got inside, he broke several bottles of alcohol before fleeing the scene, authorities allege. Prosecutors said the damage to the shattered windows was about $3,000, but the manager, Muhammed Yaseen, told PIX11 News there was about $50,000 in damage at the restaurant.
“Right now, with the doors and this [by the bar], we could say about $50,000 in damage. Thank God there was nobody in the restaurant. There was nobody around here. God knows what could have happened. These days, guns and knives are very common,” Yaseen said.
Twenty minutes later, Jones allegedly ran into a hostel at 370 Eighth Ave. before running up to the second floor and grabbing a fire extinguisher. On his way out, he allegedly punched the manager, giving him a swollen face, prosecutors said. Jones was not staying at the hostel.
The defendant then allegedly used the fire extinguisher to spray the inside of the 7-Eleven next door to the hostel, according to the complaint. A 7-Eleven worker said he had difficulty breathing and his eyes hurt after the incident.
“This person is intoxicated, crazy, came running up the stairs, and started ripping the fire extinguisher off the wall. ‘Wait a minute. Stop that.’ There was a bit of a scuffle, and he ran out with the fire extinguisher. Did a pirouette. Covered 9,000 items with dust,” said Adi Purusha with Interfaith Community Services.
Jones has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is due back in court on March 18. His attorney could not immediately be reached.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
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